Wizordum (PC) Preview

A shiny modern take on the ’90s fantasy shooters some of us remember as Ultima, Wizardry, and the very early Elder Scrolls, Wizordum is the word nostalgia but in high-elvish, or something. In other words, everything is set to look flat but textured to seem 3D, forward-facing sprites are everywhere, and there are lots and lots of lovely hidden secrets behind hidden paths. Many of these things come with a ’90s idea of level design: Push into an area, unlock something, get a key, and push back out as doors unlock revealing enemies and monsters spawning in your path.

Emberheart Games and Apogee Entertainment make sure to establish Wizordum as absolutely taking cues from the 90s action titles we all know and love. Including health systems that overcharge like Wolfenstein, weapons dropping like it is Half-Life: Opposing Force, and there is nary a mention of a plot (so far). You just have to take it from environmental clues as you run around, and run around you do as left-shift will instead make you walk, like a peasant. You’ll explore dungeons, castles, sewers, dockyards, and so on, basically anywhere you’ll find barrels to destroy. Have I mentioned how Wizordum is drunk on 90s shooters?

Releasing into Early Access last week, beyond simple additions like the story, more “episodes” to extend the length, modding, and other minor features like accessibility, Wizordum is practically there. With a solid foundation out of the gate, it is difficult to criticize Emberheart’s latest title. However, I can’t ignore the fact I wasn’t strapped to my seat to play for hours. It is the same “issue” I had with Fight Forever, as I was never glued to it entirely. Both for a fairly similar reason, they are based on a ’90s gameplay model without that something extra to bring it forward in time.

Right now, there is one “episode” available to peruse, which gives a good idea of what is on the horizon with several levels within that “episode.” All offer the labyrinthine level design of prior titles mentioned within the genre Wizordum mimics. Yet something fails to bring this sense of heart-pounding action as you throw magic around with reckless abandon is the soundtrack being straight out of David A Hughes’ mid-2000s book of fantasy. Particularly Vadim Jean’s TV adaptations of the Hogfather and The Colour of Magic. Where other titles would be dynamic, kicking in something heart-racing, the standard mystery soundtrack plods along.

This is an issue alongside several bugs/oddities for reasons I can’t quite explain. Following a couple of updates, saves I’ve had during the press build won’t properly load. The screen will hit about 70% and then stop, though you can hit ESC and it brings the pause menu up under the load screen. Sometimes “Save” in the save menu just won’t bother bringing up the “Are you sure?” text. By saving, sometimes I’d be locking Wizordum into a weird state where I’d just stand in one place and spin, the mouse being left as still as possible.

With a number of spells at your disposal, the Doom idea of just shooting stuff with big guns isn’t the idea. However, the projectiles on offer are probably what you’ll use the most. You have a mace imbued with the force of Thor from seasons 6 and 7 of Robot Wars, fireballs with the force of a Kamehameha, a staff that fires ice because you want to build a snowman, and a flintlock pistol that knocks everything back. I’ll admit that I used the fireballs a bit too much, but that’s because the ammo for it is everywhere.

I don’t hate Wizordum despite my nitpicking, though after feeling a little sick to what I think is possibly an issue with the FOV, I didn’t want to keep playing constantly. Similar in concept to Apogee’s other “boomer shooter” (as we’ve taken to calling them) Turbo Overkill, I should be saying similar things but it would be unfair to criticize too much on that front. One has you amputate yourself with chainsaws for knees, the other has you running around as a short Rincewind calling everyone a Plonker.

Ultimately, Wizordum is a game for fans of fantasy shooter titles like Hexen and Heretic, Ultima, Strife, and all the rest. I won’t say me, because I’m too young to have played them in their heyday. There is a lot of potential for Wizordum to be a standout for 2024 when its full release is scheduled, though for now there is a solid foundation on which it will be building. Now if only there was a tutorial to tell me there was a map all along instead of finding that out when looking in the controls after several hours played.

A PC preview copy of Wizordum was provided by Apogee Entertainment for this review.